Hobby leads to successful IT career for TSTC alumnus

(MARSHALL, Texas) - What started as a hobby that almost drove James Lynn Jr.'s parents crazy evolved into a career spanning nearly 25 years.

"As a child I had a habit of tearing things down and fixing them," Lynn said. "My parents would buy me something, and I would take it, dismantle it and put it back together."

After graduating from high school, Lynn enrolled in what is now Texas State Technical College's Computer Networking and Systems Administration program.

Lynn put all of his effort toward his future, holding down a job selling computers and maintaining good enough grades at TSTC to join the Phi Theta Kappa honor society.

"The hands-on experience that I got at TSTC, actually being able to physically tear something down and build it back up, learning how to pair and run cables - that was fun," he said.

After receiving his Associate of Applied Science degree from TSTC in 2000, Lynn took a tip from a friend and applied for an information technology (IT) position with Community Bank's Longview location. He continued to grow from there.

Lynn is now vice president of IT for Community Bank.

"It's been an enjoyable time here," he said. "I started out just doing IT for them and some bookkeeping, and it's just been year after year. Currently I oversee all of IT for Community Bank."

Lynn said the world of banking requires constant education to keep up with changing regulations and he regularly attends seminars and workshops.

"TSTC, for me, was a foundation," he said. "It really helped me to get grounded and find exactly what it is I want to do with my life."

According to onetonline.org, network and computer systems administrators earn a median salary of $92,360 in Texas, where the number of these jobs was projected to grow 20% between 2020 and 2030.

Computer Networking and Systems Administration is available at TSTC's Abilene, East Williamson County, Marshall, North Texas and Waco campuses. The program is also available online.

At TSTC, students can pursue an Associate of Applied Science degree in Computer Networking and Systems Administration, certificates of completion in IT Support Tier 1 and IT Support Tier II, and an advanced technical certificate in Cloud Computing.

For more information about TSTC, go to tstc.edu.

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